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The concept of macroseismic intensity arose with the purpose of measuring the strength of an earthquake by the effects it causes on buildings, people, and domestic furnishings. From this perspective, buildings can be considered seismic sensors that record the shaking. Early scales were conceived at a time when buildings were mainly in masonry and therefore they could be used as markers of the intensity in case of earthquakes. Indeed, since they were fairly homogeneous, their level of damage could be considered as an indicator of the shaking level. In recent decades, the evolution of construction techniques have made the MCS scale unsuitable for damage assessment of buildings of various resistance. To overcome this problem the EMS-98 scale was designed. Because the MCS scale is still used in Italy, even in the presence of many reinforced concrete buildings, the purpose of this work is to show that the EMS-98 is the most suitable tool for assessing intensity as it is more consistent with the built environment. Theoretical and real intensity assessments, by both MCS and EMS-98, have been determined and compared, showing that nowadays intensity is a function of the vulnerability. MCS and EMS-98 would be comparable only when the building stock is composed of very vulnerable edifices (generally class A). Finally, thanks to the similarity of the two scales for old and vulnerable buildings, EMS-98 appears fully adequate to investigate historical earthquakes and represents a powerful tool to ensure continuity among earthquakes of different epochs.

On 24th of August 2016 a strong earthquake (Ml 6.0; Mw 6.0) struck Central Italy, causing destruction and about 300 victims. The earthquake was the first in a long-lasting seismic sequence characterized by seven events of magnitude larger than 5.4, with the main event of Mw 6.5 occurring on 30th of October 2016. A macroseismic survey was carried out soon after each damaging shock. In some of the most damaged villages a building-to-building survey was carried out. Assessing the intensity during the campaign in the presence of increasing damage was one of the main problems to be dealt with. In this paper we present the data collected in Amatrice, Accumoli, Arquata del Tronto, and its expanded area called Borgo, after the 24th of August and the 30th of October earthquakes, in order to investigate the damage progression and its influence on the intensity assessment according to the European Macroseismic Scale (EMS-98). This work aims to document the evolution of the damage that was observed during the sequence in the above-mentioned areas, by analysing the behaviour of each vulnerability class, and to contribute to the discussion on the assessment of macroseismic intensity in presence of cumulative damage.

In this paper we describe the macroseismic effects produced by the long and destructive seismic sequence that hit Central Italy from 24 August 2016 to January 2017. Starting from the procedure adopted in the complex field survey, we discuss the characteristics of the building stock and its classification in terms of EMS-98 as well as the issues associated with the intensity assessment due to the evolution of damage caused by multiple shocks. As a result, macroseismic intensity for about 300 localities has been determined; however, most of the intensities assessed for the earthquakes following the first strong shock on 24 August 2016, represent the cumulative effect of damage during the sequence. The earthquake parameters computed from the macroseismic datasets are compared with the instrumental determinations in order to highlight critical issues related to the assessment of macroseismic parameters of strong earthquakes during a seismic sequence. The results also provide indications on how location and magnitude computation can be strongly biased when dealing with historical seismic sequences.

In May–June 2012, the Po Valley (Northern Italy) was struck by an earthquake sequence whose strongest event occurred on 20 May (Mw 5.9). The intensity values (Imax 7–8 EMS98) assessed through macroseismic field surveys seemed inappropriate to describe the whole range of effects observed, especially those to monumental heritage, which suffered very heavy damage and destruction. The observed intensities in fact were significantly lower than those we could have expected after a Mw 5.9 event for Italy. As magnitude-intensity regressions are mainly based on historical earthquake data, we handle this issue going back in time and debating the following hypotheses: (a) the 2012 Emilia earthquake sequence shows lower intensity values than expected because the affected urban context is more heterogeneous and much less vulnerable than that in the past; (b) some historical earthquakes, especially those that occurred centuries ago and are provided with little information, could show a tendency to be overestimated in intensity, and consequently in magnitude. In order to give consistency to such hypotheses, we have introduced, as a test, a dual historical reading of the 2012 Emilia earthquake sequence as if it had occurred in the past: the first reading refers to a period prior to the introduction of concrete in buildings assessing the intensity on traditional masonry buildings only. A further historical reading, assessed by using information on monumental buildings only, was performed, and it can be roughly referred to the XVI–XVII centuries. In both cases, intensity values tend to grow significantly. The results could have a relevant impact when considered for seismic hazard assessments if confirmed on a large scale.

This paper describes the damage survey in the city of L’Aquila after the 6 April 2009 earthquake. The earthquake, whose magnitude and intensity reached Mw = 6.3 and Imax = 9–10 MCS, struck the Abruzzi region of Central Italy producing severe damage in L’Aquila and in many villages along the Middle Aterno River valley. After the event, a building-to-building survey was performed in L’Aquila downtown aiming to collect data in order to perform a strict evaluation of the damage. The survey was carried out under the European Macroseismic Scale (EMS98) to evaluate the local macroseismic intensity. This damage survey represents the most complex application of the EMS98 in Italy since it became effective. More than 1,700 buildings (99% of the building stock) were taken into account during the survey at L’Aquila downtown, highlighting the difficult application of the macroseismic scale in a large urban context. The EMS98 revealed itself to be the best tool to perform such kind of analysis in urban settings. The complete survey displayed evidence of peculiar features in the damage distribution. Results revealed that the highest rate of collapses occurred within a delimited area of the historical centre and along the SW border of the fluvial terrace on which the city is settled. Intensity assessed for L’Aquila downtown was 8–9 EMS.

In this work we present the High‐Energy Particle Detector (HEPD‐01) observations of proton fluxes from space during the 28 October 2021 solar energetic particle event, which produced a ground‐level enhancement on Earth. The event was associated with the major, long‐duration X1‐class flare and the concomitant coronal mass ejection (CME) that erupted from the Active Region 12887. This is the first direct measurement from space of solar particles emitted during the current solar cycle, recorded by a single instrument in the energy range from ∼50 MeV/n up to ∼250 MeV/n. We have performed a Weibull‐modeled spectral analysis of the energy spectrum in the wide energy range 300 keV–250 MeV, obtained from combination of HEPD‐01 proton measurements with the ones from ACE/ULEIS, SOHO/EPHIN, and SOHO/ERNE. The good agreement between data and model, also corroborated by a comparison with other spectral shapes commonly used in these studies, suggests that particles could have possibly been accelerated out from the ambient corona through the contribution of stochastic acceleration at the CME‐driven shock, even if the presence of seed populations influencing spectral shape could not be excluded. Finally, a Solar Proton Release time of 16:01 UTC ± 13 min and a magnetic path‐length of L = 1.32 ± 0.24 AU have been obtained, in agreement with previous results for this event. We remark that new and precise data on protons in the tens/hundreds MeV energy range—like the one provided by HEPD‐01—could shed more light on particle acceleration as well as provide a reliable parametrization of solar energetic particle spectra for Space Weather purposes.

Background: Impairment of platelet response to antiaggregatory agents is seen in individuals with central obesity and may play a role in the increased cardiovascular risk associated with obesity. In this study we evaluated whether this impairment involves the antiaggregatory pathways regulated by cAMP and cGMP. Methods: We obtained platelet-rich plasma from 12 obese individuals and 12 controls. We investigated the effects of the cyclic nucleotide analogs 8-pCPT-cAMP (10–500 μmol/L) and 8-pCPT-cGMP (10–500 μmol/L) on ADP-induced platelet aggregation as assessed by decreased light scattering. We assessed the activation of cAMP- and cGMP-dependent protein kinases by measuring phosphorylation of the vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) at Ser157 and Ser239. Results: The antiaggregatory effect of both cyclic nucleotide analogs was impaired in obese individuals compared to controls, with mean (SE) half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) (after 20-min incubation) of 123 (33) μmol/L vs 5 (1) μmol/L, respectively, for 8-pCPT-cAMP (P <0.01) and of 172 (43) μmol/L vs 17 (8) μmol/L, respectively, for 8-pCPT-cGMP (P <0.01). The Homeostasis Model Assessment Index of Insulin Resistance was independently correlated with cyclic nucleotide analog IC50. In obese individuals, VASP phosphorylation at Ser157 and Ser239 in response to cyclic nucleotides was significantly lower than in controls. Conclusions: In central obesity the reduced ability of cyclic nucleotides to inhibit platelet aggregation is associated with reduced activation of their specific kinases. Because cyclic nucleotides help regulate platelet antiaggregation, alteration of this ability is consistent with platelet hyperactivity in obesity.